Thinking of taking a trip to Denver. Any must see, eats, or places to avoid?

Flying or driving from which direction. What are you interested in? I grew up outside of Denver and go back there frequently to see friends and family.

How long will you be here, and when? Tons of cool things to do, with a little more information.

Sorry.
Driving in from the southeast. Probably be there 3 or 4 days. Heard about kripple creek and would like to see Brekenridge and vail. We are flatlanders and enjoy the mountains

Breckinridge and Vail are different animals from Denver.
When will you be going. HUGE difference in summer and Winter activities. Red Rocks is not too far out of Denver and quite the place.

If staying in Vail make sure to stay at The Ritz Carlton Bachelor Gulch. Quite possibly one of the greatest place in the States. The Grotto is amazing!!

Holy Cross and Bald Mountain are both great Mountains to climb.
Bald is a bit easier than Holy Cross.

Rocky Mountain National Park !!!

Coming in from the southeast, Bent's Fort in La Junta is definitely worth the stop. Reconstruction of the Bent Brother's trading post on the Santa Fe Trail. Lots of history and re-enactors as well. If coming in from further south; Santa Fe and Taos are definitely worth checking out. The drive up to and out of Taos really is scenic. Lots to do in the Colorado Springs area as well on the way in; Pikes Peak, zip lines at Seven Falls, walking around Manitou Springs and the Air Force Academy.

As far as where to eat in Denver, The Fort in Morrison was always our go to place for special dinners. The Buckhorn Exchange in Denver has also got a lot of history as well as great food. Liquor license no. 1 on display behind the bar upstairs. Benny's on 7th and Grant close to downtown has great mexican food and the best margaritas ever. Hacienda Colorado in Lone Tree has also got great if a little non-traditional mexican food and chocolate cake to die for. Dozens downtown and out in Aurora is great for breakfast. Perfect Landing at Centennial Airport has killer breakfast and B&B Cafe in Castle rock is an institution for breakfast. Case Bonita for mexican to entertain the kids, but the food is about the same quality as Taco Bell.

Check the websites for Breckenridge and Vail and see when their, "summertime" activities end. Breckenridge has alpine slides and all kinds of cool stuff. Check before going since online advance tickets are much cheaper than purchasing the day of. Museum and Buffalo Bill's grave are on Lookout Mountain just outside of Golden. Georgetown Loop railroad is fun and pizza at BeuJo's in Idaho Springs rocks. Do not go to any BeuaJo's locations other than the original in Idaho Springs.

Denver has a great art museum and museum of natural history. The former site of Lowry Air Force base has an air and space museum, but I've never been to it to give a recommendation. Rocky Mountain National Park is always worth a trip.

Hope my rambling helps. Let me know if you've got specific questions.

I live in Conifer, about 8 miles from Red Rocks, in the SW portion of Denver metro. Email is in my bio.

A nice day trip would be from Denver to either Vail or Breck, and stay the night there. You could do a loop, from Denver to either Breck or Vail, stay the night, then head back to Denver the next day. I would head to the SW (by me) to Hwy 285 (highway C-470 & Hwy 285). Take 285 to Fairplay and head over Hoosier pass and drop into Breck. Or, stay on 285 1 hour longer longer to Buena Vista, hang a right and go through Leadville to the bottom of Vail pass, hwy 91 (near Copper Mountain ski resort). Or, take hwy 24 and drop right into Vail. Head back to Denver I-70. Or, do the reverse, Denver i-70 to Vail, then 285 back to Denver.

ETA, Z71 has some good suggestions. The Fort is about 2 miles from Red Rocks, right on Hwy 285. Good, somewhat exotic food, but pricey. I also like Simms Steakhouse on 6th Ave freeway (Lakewood, CO I think) and The Chart House on I-70 in Genessee.

Check out tocabe for some good cheap eats. Like chipotle for Native American food.

quote:

Originally posted by usmc-nav:
Sorry.
Driving in from the southeast. Probably be there 3 or 4 days. Heard about kripple creek and would like to see Brekenridge and vail. We are flatlanders and enjoy the mountains

I didn't know how north you wanted or when but the colors should be starting soon.

Pikespeakcolorado.com

quote:

Originally posted by usmc-nav:

We are flatlanders and enjoy the mountains

Skip Denver then. When friends and family come out here and want to enjoy the mountains, I direct them towards the Sawatch Range and the San Juan Range. Sawatch. Salida, Buena Vista, Leadville. San Juans. Silverton, Ouray.

quote:

Originally posted by 2000Z-71:

...The former site of Lowry Air Force base has an air and space museum, but I've never been to it to give a recommendation...

http://wingsmuseum.org/ It looks nice on the www. I used to stay on Lowry when I was in the ANG at Buckley.

If you have a mil id, you can shop at the BX on Buckley. ANG has F-16s, I think the ARNG still has choppers, and there are some, er...spooky radomes.

http://www.buckley.af.mil/

quote:

Originally posted by SigSentry:

quote:

Originally posted by usmc-nav:
Sorry.
Driving in from the southeast. Probably be there 3 or 4 days. Heard about kripple creek and would like to see Brekenridge and vail. We are flatlanders and enjoy the mountains

I didn't know how north you wanted or when but the colors should be starting soon.

Pikespeakcolorado.com

Colors are already going, I was hiking through groves of golden aspen last week up by Leadville.

quote:

Originally posted by 2000Z-71:

The former site of Lowry Air Force base has an air and space museum, but I've never been to it to give a recommendation.

That museum is really nice. It's got a nice selection of aircraft on display (including an RB-52B [recon version of the BUFF; I never knew they existed before I read the placard] ). I went through Tech School on Lowry before they shut down, and I walked past that B-52 every day on my way to classes.

quote:

Originally posted by SigSentry:
I didn't know how north you wanted or when but the colors should be starting soon.

Pikespeakcolorado.com

From the news I saw the storm coming this weekend will push a lot of the leaves off. If you are wanting to see the aspens turning you might be better off in the southern part of Colorado.

We were just in Breckenridge last week and the Aspens are already changing and the weather was perfect!

In Blue River (just south of Breckenridge, off Hwy 9) there is a really nice hike up to Mohawk Lakes that you can drive right up to the trailhead in a stock 4x4 truck/suv.

If you happen to be over near the southern I-25 corridor, the leaves are currently changing around here. For a nice scenic drive, take the Highway of Legends, HWY 12, from Trinidad to La Veta. Plenty of places to pull off the road and take some pictures. Lots of little small town cafes and such in La Veta, or come down to Walsenburg and goto Georges Diner on the north side of town for lunch (great burgers and shakes, and cheap too!). The Trinidad to La Veta loop should only take a few hours drive.

quote:

Originally posted by Hound Dog:

quote:

Originally posted by 2000Z-71:

The former site of Lowry Air Force base has an air and space museum, but I've never been to it to give a recommendation.

That museum is really nice. It's got a nice selection of aircraft on display (including an RB-52B [recon version of the BUFF; I never knew they existed before I read the placard] ). I went through Tech School on Lowry before they shut down, and I walked past that B-52 every day on my way to classes.

Lowry has been heavily redeveloped, anyone visiting today will have to use their imagination to see it as a former flying field.

http://www.airfields-freeman.c..._Denver_SE.htm#lowry

quote:

Originally posted by Hound Dog:

quote:

Originally posted by 2000Z-71:

The former site of Lowry Air Force base has an air and space museum, but I've never been to it to give a recommendation.

That museum is really nice. It's got a nice selection of aircraft on display (including an RB-52B [recon version of the BUFF; I never knew they existed before I read the placard] ). I went through Tech School on Lowry before they shut down, and I walked past that B-52 every day on my way to classes.

Hound Dog. Me too! I was at Lowery in 1981. Food Service school 62230 Mustered out as 62270

Cripple Creek is a great place to visit, as is Estes Park. But bear in mind that it's a day round trip from Denver.